Making Changes

I feel a bit more in control of things again. I guess that is how life goes. A series of peaks and valleys of being on my game and then doubting what I am doing.
Work is as busy as can be and it is taking a toll on my business for sure. I am getting my Christmas orders done but not much else. I have been neglecting my internet locations for selling but will get back on track in the next few weeks.
I made some changes with my brick and mortar locations though. I had stock at both Periwinkle locations and the Purple Thumb all in Toronto. I have decided to down-size to just one of the three shops and that will be the Bloor West location of Periwinkle. The Forest Hill shop is quite high in rent and there was a suggestion made that I should bump my prices to take that into consideration and because that particular demographic can handle it. I don't want to get into that though as I just feel it is the wrong thing to do. My prices are my prices. It is not right to charge $20 more for something in one spot and have the same item advertised elsewhere for less. That being said, I don't want to keep losing a wack of stock every month just to cover rent. My experience with the Purple Thumb on the other hand has just been pretty bad. I have been having an issue for the past few months in regards to getting sales reports and getting paid. I decided to end my contract immediately and was relieved to have my stock returned promptly.
On a positive front, I am upsizing my place at Periwinkle on Bloor. I am going from a shelf to a prime location table. The rent will be higher but the exposure much greater and more space too.
I am feeling good about these decisions and feel like I will be off to a great start in 2011.

Overwhelmed

I have so much going on with work right now that I feel completely overhwlemed. I think it is all in my lack of ability to say no. I get working on something and vow that it will not over take my life but then I get sucked in like a big old vacuum! It has happened again. I have several balls up in the air with my day job and hoping I can keep juggling until the end of December. The truth is though, I am nervous and stressed and even losing sleep.
I would love a mindless, easy job right now. really, I would.
On the bright side, I am nearly done my Christmas shopping (mainly because I did it in two big blitz's!). I have three more small things to get and it is DONE! I think i will award my husband with the fabulous (not) task of wrapping the gifts. He really got off the hook on the shopping and truthfully, he wraps better than I do.

Changes for the Better

People are so scared of change. I can kind of relate. When I am really happy or comfortable with how things are going and then someone comes in and announces change, it makes me uncomfortable. Usually, when the change actually happens though, it ends up being a good thing.
Right now I am making some changes and because they are my own choices, I look forward to them and I certainly hope for good things.
On a small scale, I have made changes to how I am taking pictures of my work (yet again). It's no secret that I am not great at photography. It is such an important elemnt to selling online and I just know that it is negatively impacting my sales. So, I am upping my game a bit and trying minor props. I found some really cool antique books and have started using those in the pics. I am liking it so far! I think I need to look into a lightbox too. If I was handy I would make one but I am not that sort of person so I need to try and buy one.
A bigger change is that I have found a horse to ride after being out of the saddle nearly two years (having a baby then breaking my knee). I miss riding but am scared that my knee won't hold up. If this horse is suitable it will be nice. I will pay to ride him one day a week which will be perfect for a bit of exercise, a bit of enotional bliss and feeding my love for horses at the same time.
It will be at a completely new barn where I won't know anyone but it looks like a nice place and the barn owner seems pretty cool. It is also a pretty snazzy barn which is a great bonus. I really hope it works out. It has been a while since I have done something just for me. This will be a definite change for the better.

Imagination Station

Man I have so many ideas for jewellery running through my head...it is crazy! I really want to take things to a whole new level but need the supplies and time to get there! I have it all worked out in my head though. I only hope I can make it happen!
I also have this rotten cold right now. I have been sort of battling this cough for over a month and now my nose will not stop running. Probably a few good days of medication, sleep and down time would do me the world of good but unfortunately that is not in the cards until well after Christmas. Work is just too busy and I am working on a list of jewellery orders for Christmas as well.
Anyway, just a quick post to prevent me from exploding over these wicked designs that are rattling around in my head!

What happened to the weekend??

It came and went so quickly! I woke up this morning and could not believe it was already time to go back to work!
Who thought of this crazy 40 plus hour 5 day work week anyway?
So saturday was fun! I went to the Royal Winter Fair which is something I love to do every year. It did not disappoint and I managed to do some Christmas Shopping as well.
I bought myself a lil something somthin too. A lovely woven and colourful basket from Nepal. I just adore it! And it was only $40!
Sunday came and went in a blur without much to report.
Today I had some fresh new ideas for jewellery though and while they won"t surface for a while I am sure they will be great!

Craftstock!

So I am proud to report that I did my first craft show completely solo and it went well! I bought everything needed for my booth and actually now I feel super-organized. I implemented a few new things like a sign up sheet for a newsletter and a few other small things that will help in my quest for promoting my work more. I also bought a little cart to help me in with all of my stuff as this was one fo the things I had anxiety over.
So I left my house bright and early Saturday morning with a tank full of gas and a hot coffee. Things were going fine until I ran into major traffic on the highway. They had it down to one lane for several miles and it was a total bottleneck! Luckily I had left early but it still made me feel really squeezed for time. When I got to the show (surprisingly without getting lost) there were helpers everywhere! They assisted by helping me bring my things in and finding my booth.
I liked the lay out of the show and really loved that tables and chairs were included!
So I got my booth set up just in time and was fortunate enough to have nice vendors on either side of me. As always, there were loads of jewellery booths there and a few bitchy vendors but all in all it was positive. Sales were pretty good and customers were lovely. I will do this show again next year.
What I really took out of this whole experience was a realization that I really can do this by myself and actully how much better it will be. There was less stress for sure and I would never have guessed that. It was positive and nice.
So, I talked a lot of smack about my booth and while I didn't get to spend the time on it that I had wanted to, I did snap a picture and I think it looks pretty cute. I got lots of compliments from customers, the show promoters and even a few other vendors which made me feel good.

Of course you will see that Mimi and Lola were on either side of the table, my new neck displays were along the back and I had two white plates. One had Piper Shaw necklaces, the other had finer charm type necklaces for adults. I had two of the tiered pastry displays. One had earrings and one had hair accessories. I also had two raised cake plates that both had bracelets. The look was finished with two sweet little jewelled mirrors and cute signage. I was pleased with it but am already thinking of ways to make it look better!

Lots going on!

There is a lot to talk about today. In an effort to not ramble on endlessly I will try to keep it short and sweet.
First of all, it has been one year and three days since I brought Piper home from the hospital! It has been an amazing year with her and she is so wonderful! She spent 7 months in the hospital, often fighting for her life and now she is home and she has a great outlook on things even at such a young age. This morning our daycare provider (who has been in the business for over 20 years) told me that Piper is the funniest and sharpest baby she has ever met! What a compliment :)
In other news, work is so crazy busy I could scream. I definitely feel overwhelmed. I have to keep reminding myself that I am one person and I do the best that I can. I keep asking for help but my requests seem to fall on deaf ears. Once again, I am one person....
I have my first solo jewellery show tomorrow. I am excited but at the same time I have low expectations. It was not much in the way of rent and I was able to get in sort of last minute which isn't really a great sign. In any event, I have put lots of work into making sure my booth will look good and I have a fair amount of stock so let's hope it goes well. I feel slightly frazzled as I have to finish packing tonight and I always have anxiety that I won't be ready.
Wish me luck though...